The Indian fighter jets have begun the process of changing over to desi tyres, probably signalling an end to escalating cost and non-availability concerns.

The Indian Air Force sources confirmed to Express that the â€˜India shiningâ€™ story is being scripted by the MRF, which has got the clearance from the military airworthiness officials to produce the main wheel tyres of frontline fighters Sukhoi (Su-30 MKI). The indigenous tyres named Aeromuscle are 30 per cent cheaper than the imported ones.

The IAF started looking within the country after facing difficulties in sourcing tyres from abroad. It was even forced to use tyres from war reserves for some aircraft, after supplies from Russia became an issue.

The idea to approach Indian companies was taken up during P V Nayakâ€™s tenure as the IAF chief.

â€œThe MRF agreed to do all design, development and quality tests at their own cost in the nationâ€™s interest,â€ an IAF official said.

The MRF took the tyres for dynamometer tests thrice to a facility in China, incurring a cost of around `10 crore. (A dynamometer test simulates the entire sequence of taxi, take-off, landing and braking loads on the tyre.)

â€œLater, the tyres were sent for trials at the IAF bases in Bareilly, Jodhpur and Leh in 2011. They were finally cleared for getting on to the IAF assets in 2012. The MRF has so far delivered 350 tyres and the remaining are being manufactured at their plant in Medak near Hyderabad,â€ the official said. A Sukhoi has two main wheel and two nose wheel tyres.

Seeing the success of Aeromuscle tyres, the MRF has been given the mandate of designing the nose wheel tyres for Sukhois.

â€œCurrently, the fitment trials are over and they are being taken to China for dynamometer tests. By June, these tyres will be sent to Bangalore for the clearance of the Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification,â€ the official added.

Speaking to Express from Hyderabad, Dr K Tamilmani, Director-General (Aero), confirmed that even the Indian Navy wants Aeromuscle for the MiG-29Ks. â€œWe are planning to change the Tejas tyres very soon, which will be followed by Dornier, Pilatus and Hawk. Currently, the Tejas runs on Dunlop, being imported from the UK,â€ said Tamilmani. He said aircraft tyres normally undergo various tests such as burst, air retention, bottoming-up (emptying the air/flat tyres), fitment and taxi.

MRF is set to emerge as a major supplier of tyres for the Indian Air Force (IAF) as the countryâ€™s leading tyre maker has now created yet another record of supplying aircraft tyres for the defence.

After successfully producing and supplying tyres for Indian defence helicopters, the company has now started supplying indigenously developed tyres for Sukhoi 30 MKI, the most advanced fighter aircraft group in the IAF fleet. The main wheel tyre for the Sukhoi was unveiled on Saturday.

The development marks one of the significant steps in defenceâ€™s indigenisation programme. MRFâ€™s supply is to result in significant savings as its tyres will be priced 30-40 per cent lower than the tyres the IAF used to procure from outside the country.

â€œWe are the only Indian company to make tyres for Indian defence helicopters and aircraft, and with this, we will be among the very few global tyre OEMs that supply aviation tyres,â€ said Arun Mammen, Managing Director, MRF Ltd.

Though MRF has been supplying tyres to various vehicles of Defence Forces, its journey to supply aviation tyres began in 2001. After meeting all requirements and securing approvals from various authorities, it started supplying helicopter tyres for Chetak fleet in 2008. In the same year, it took up the project of developing main wheel tyres for Sukhoi 30 MKI. By working with various entities of Defence Department, the company came up with indigenously developed fighter tyres, which have been tested for ground speeds of up to 420 kmph with loads in excess of 18 tons per tyre.

After completion of the tests, the product has been cleared by CEMILAC (The certifying authority for Military aviation) for commercial production in 2012. These tyres are being produced at its facility at Medak (Andhra Pradesh).

In a bid to cut costs and boost its efficiency, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is planning to go in for massive indigenisation and experts feel if indigenisation becomes a policy, then 70 to 80 per cent of defence products will be indigenised in the next decade.

The IAF has already tied up with MRF in this venture and the tyre manufacturer has already made tyres for the Air Forceâ€™s Sukhoi 30 range of aircraft. Till now, the tyres of IAF aircraft are being procured from abroad at a high cost. â€œUsually, IAF spends `1 lakh to buy a tyre from abroad but now we are offering them better quality at an affordable cost â€” 35 to 40 per cent lower that what they are purchasing at now. We are offering each tyre at a cost of `56,000,â€ said MRF Chairman and Managing Director, K M Mammen.

The tyres are produced at the companyâ€™s manufacturing facility situated in Medak, Hyderabad. Mammen, Air Vice Marshal J K Singh and Dr K Tamil Mani, DRDO Director General (Aero) launched the tyre range called â€˜Aero Muscle.

Mammen felt that the government should follow an indigenisation policy rather than be dependent on imports. â€œIf indigenisation becomes a policy then 70 to 80 per cent of defence products will be indigenised in the next 10 years,â€ he said.

MRF took up the next project of the main wheel tyres for the Sukhoi 30 MKI in 2008. This project was anchored by CEMILAC (the certifying authority for Military aviation), RCMA (Nasik), DGAQA, IAF and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

MRF Ltd Executive Vice-President Marketing Koshy Varghese said that MRF is using the back-up facility. â€œWe are executing an order which we got in 2013 from the IAF. 50 per cent of the order which is substantial is being executed. The remaining 50 per cent is on the way,â€ he said.

Intrestingy, MRF has already set its sights on manufacturig tyres for MIGs. There are various projects but MIG is the immediate thing, said Koshy.Ever-increasing costs of imports and dependence on foreign vendors has resulted in IAF to take a decision on indigenisation. Currently, it is believed the Indian air force operates more than 20 different types of aircraft and several radars, other support systems and weapons.